Machine for treating fruit.



w.. H-.1\mLAND;.., MACHINE' FORi TEEATINGA FRUIT; ABBLLQATION FILEDFilm1, 1909.

wmmimmmmlmwm W. H.. NOLAND. MACHINE FOR TREATING-FEUIT..APPLIOATIONA'HLBD Novu, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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an s'in'rns ignari* onrion.

WILLIAM H. NOLAND, OF FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, .ASSIG-NOR OF ONE-THIRD T0 E.A

STALLINGS AND ONE-THIRD TO il?. B. HARDY, BOIH OF FRESNO COUNTY, CALI-FORNIA.

MACHINE FOR 'IREATING FRUIT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 1, 1909. Serial No. 525,774.

To all whom 'it may ccmcerm. Y

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. NoLAND, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fresno, in the county. of Fresno and State ofCalifornia,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in-Machinesfor Treat'- ing Fruit; and I do hereby declare the. following to be afull, clear, and exact descri tion of the invention, such as will enab eothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to thefigures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

rllliis invention belongs to the art of fruit treating machines, and itmore especially pertains to a machine by which the fruit, for instance,raisins and the like, maybe treated by the em loyment of steam.

The primary ob] ect of the invention is the provision of a processinginclosure or tank having a hopper (through which the fruit `is passed)and a discharge opening for the fr'uitfand provided upon the interiorthereof with a revolving table or plate having perforations upon whichthe fruit is received, and after being treated by the steam,automatically discharged through the discharge opening.

Another object of the invention resides in providing the revolving tableor plate having caster or antifrictional wheels which engageand rotateupon the bed-plate within the processing inclosure or tank..

Another object of the invention is to provide the revolving table orplate uponv its periphery with an annular groove, about which a suitablecable travels for imparting` a revolving action t-o the table.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a steam coillocated below the revolving table or plate for treating the raisins orother fruit or similar articles deposited upon the table.

A further object of the invention is Vthe provision of a deflector plateor fender, by which the fruit or raisins carried by the revolving tableare automatically deflected through the discharge opening.

A further object of thel invention is to construct the revolving tabletop in sections,

each being perforated as shown, which sections may be rigidlyordetachably carried by radial armsvofthe vertically arranged processishaft, extending concentrically through the inclosure or tank.

A furt er object of the invention is the provisionl of a flange orfender of the revolvin table top (which is composed of more ian onelayer or section) by which the condensation of steam is prevented fromreaching the bearings of the vertically arranged shaft (which would havea tendency to injure, the same).

In this specification and the drawings accompanying the same, a certaindesign of device is complied with, but the invention is not to beconfined to this special form. rllhe device in its actual reduction toIpractice ma require changes and variations; the rig t thereto vbelongsto the applicant, provided such changes and variations are comprehendedby the accompanying claims.

Further objects and combinations of various partswill be hereinaftermore clearly set forth and pointed out in the appended claims.

ln the drawings Figure l is a vertical sectional view through the fruittreating machine or apparatus, showing some of the parts in elevation.Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the fruit treating machine oi' apparatus,showing the relative position of the hopper with regard to the dischargeopening, and illustrating the means by which access may be had to theinterior of the processing inclosure or tank. Fig. 3 is a horizontalsectional view upon line 33 of Fig. 1, showing the top or perforatedportion of the revolving table or plate. Fig. 4 is a horizontalsectional view upon line 4:-4 of Fig. 1, below the revolving table topor plate, showing the trackway upon which thefrictional wheels orcasters travel. v

Referring to the drawings, 1 denotes the foundation or base upon whichthe bedplate 2 is fixed. Resting upon the bed-plate '2 is anannularftrackway 3, which is secured tened a slight distance above thelatter. The fruit which ispassed through the hopper 12, fastenedl in anopening in the top 13 of the processing chamber 2", into the interior ofthe apparatus lodges upon said table and is acted upon by the steamissuing from the perforations of the coil and, ,which` passes throughthe perforations of the table. Each layer or annular plate may becomposed of a plurality of sections 14, if desired, and

provided with the perforations. These sections 14 of the revolving tabletop may be rigidly or detachably carried by radial arms 15 whichprojectfrom a collar 16 mounted upon the vertically disposed shaft 17,in order that the table top may revolve with the shaft. This table topis provided with or reaching tion of steam from reaching the said shaft.

leo'

The'coil 11 surrounds the extension 20, and

is disposed below the revolving table top, and extending to and leavingthe 'coil are pipes 22, whereby the steam may be` conveyed to and fromthe coil. The shaft 17 is mounted in bearings 23 and 24 ofthe foundationand the laterally propecting rm or beam 25 (which projects at right agles to the standard 26). This standard 26 eX- tends upwardly from thefoundation or base 1, and its upper portion is threaded, as shown at 27(which penetrates the beam 25) and threaded thereon and above and belowthe beam 25 are nuts 28, whereby'the beam 25 may be adjusted and held inits adjusted position.

The revolving table top or plate is provided with an annular groovedviange 29, aboutA which the cable 30 engages, which cable travels aboutthe pulley 31, to which any suitable power (not shown) may be applied,-in order to impart a revolving, action to the table.

The conical or dome-shaped cover or closure 13 is provided with a looseconnection vwith the annular sides of the processing in# closure ortank, in order to allow the same to be removed, `it being understoodthat this cover or closure may be permanently fixed or carried thy thesides of the said inclosure or tank, if desired. The conical ordomeshaped cover is provided with a radially extending openin 32,through which access to the interior o the processing tank may be had.This opening 32 is closed byDthe slides 33, the upper ends of which arereceived by a segmental slot 34, by which the slides are guided whenbeing moved. The lower portions of the slides are bent under the lowerannular periphery of the cover or closure, as shown at 35, to furtherguide the slides when being moved. The processing inclosure or tank isprovided with a 'fruit discharge opening 36.

The upper surface of the revolving table top is provided with a fenderor deflector plate 37, which is disposed tangentially with regard to thecenter ofthe processing inclosure or tank, the purpose of which being toautomatically defiect the fruit through the `discharge opening, as therevolving table is in motion.

j Steam from any suitable source (not shown) reaches the steam coilthrough one of the pipes 22, there being suitable valves 38 arranged ineach one of the pipes 22 for the regulation of steam, and while thesteam is passing through the coil or held therein, the fruit, which isdeposited upon the revolving table, is properly treated. While the fruitis being deposited upon and discharged from thetable, a slow revolvingaction is-.imparted to the table, in order to allow time'for the fruitto be properly acted upon by the steam. The fruit is'deposited upon theside 39 of the fender or deiector, and as the revolving table is inmotion, the fruit reaches the opposite side 40 of the fender ordetlector, and isautomatically discharged thereby.

From the foregoing, the essential features, elements and the operationof the device, together with the simplicity thereof, will be clearlyapparent.

It will be further noted, by the provision of a device of the abovecharacter, that this method of treating raisins or other fruit iscleaner and it leaves the raisins comparatively in their natural state.

Having thus fully set forth the invention, what is claimed as new anduseful, ist- 1. An apparatus for treating fruit, comprising a receptaclehaving a discharge opening, a vertically rotatable shaft mounted withinsaid receptacle a collar fixed to said shaft, radial arms projectingfrom said collar, a cylindrical deflectin member fixed to said arms, aperforated ta le rotatin with said shaft, a shell to which said deecting member is fastened, said shell having a laterally extendingportion with a grooved circumference, a riving means engaging saldgroove, arms projecting from said laterally projecting port-ion of theshellA and caster wheels journaled in said arms, and a steam coil aboutsaid shell and beneath the table,

as shown and described.

2. In an apparatus for treating fruit, an inclosure or tank having a hoper and a discharge o ening and provided) with an openin to low access tothe interior of the tank, s ldes for closing the last-named openatenteing, a shaft extending vertically and cen.- trally throu 'h the tank, arevolving table located Within the tank having a perforated the fruitthrough the discharge opening.

top provided with `an annular groove, said ln testimony whereof Ihereunto aiix my reiolving itable haging caste; 1kjvheel, ap aisignaturen the presence of twovwitnesses. 15 nu ar trac (Way to e en age sai Wiee s, p

a steam coil located belw the op of the re- WILLIAM H' NOLA-ND volvngtable, said revolving table having 'Witnesses flanges to prevent thecondensation of steam J. G. RHODES,

10 from reaching the shaft, and a fender or de- T. B. HARDY.

Hector plate arranged tangentially with regard to the center of the tankfor deflecting

